# Metroparks Toledo

Metroparks Toledo, officially the Metropolitan Park District of the Toledo Area, is a public park district consisting of parks, nature preserves, a botanical garden, trail network and historic battlefield in Lucas County, Ohio.
Founded during the Great Depression and initially built using labor from federal New Deal programs, the present park district includes 12,700 acres (5,100 ha) across 19 metroparks and nearly 200 miles (320 km) of trails throughout the Toledo area.
The largest park, Oak Openings Preserve Metropark, is a centerpiece of the Oak Openings Region and features ecologically significant oak savanna landscapes and globally rare plant communities. Pearson Metropark contains one of the last remaining stands of the Great Black Swamp.
The district includes historically and culturally significant sites, including the Fallen Timbers Battlefield, surviving Miami and Erie Canal infrastructure at Side Cut and Providence Metroparks, and a variety of shelters and buildings built by the federal Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps. Wildwood Preserve Metropark features one of the last remaining public, free-admission gardens designed by Ellen Biddle Shipman at the former manor house estate of Champion spark plug magnate Robert Stranahan.

## Governance

Metroparks Toledo is governed by a five-member volunteer board of commissioners appointed by the Lucas County probate court judge. The park district administrative offices are located at Wildwood Preserve Metropark.
The system is funded by three tax levies, the state local government fund, grants and donations. In 2022, the district employed 164 full-time and part-time employees.

## Metroparks

The district comprises 19 metroparks. Two additional properties, Fort Miamis in Maumee and the Brookwood Area in Toledo, are part of the district, but are not defined as metroparks.
| Metropark | Acreage (Hectares) | Location | Year Est. | Park Map |
| Bend View Metropark | 461 acres (187 ha) combined | Waterville | 1935 | map |
| Farnsworth Metropark | 461 acres (187 ha) combined | Waterville | 1937 | map |
| Providence Metropark | 461 acres (187 ha) combined | Providence Township | 1930 | map |
| Blue Creek Metropark | 678 acres (274 ha) | Whitehouse and Waterville Township | 2000 | map |
| Cannonball Prairie Metropark | 89 acres (36 ha) | Monclova Township | 2020 | map |
| Fallen Timbers Battlefield Metropark | 204 acres (83 ha) | Maumee and Monclova Township | 2000 (land purchased); 2015 (battlefield opened) | map |
| Glass City Metropark | 66 acres (27 ha) | Toledo | 2020 | map |
| Howard Marsh Metropark | 995 acres (403 ha) | Jerusalem Township | 2018 | map |
| Manhattan Marsh Preserve Metropark | 57 acres (23 ha) | Toledo | 2020 | map |
| Middlegrounds Metropark | 28 acres (11 ha) | Toledo | 2016 | map |
| Oak Openings Preserve Metropark | 4,291 acres (1,737 ha) | Swanton Township | 1931 | map |
| Pearson Metropark | 627 acres (254 ha) | Oregon | 1934 | map |
| Secor Metropark | 837 acres (339 ha) | Richfield Township and Sylvania Township | 1949 | map |
| Side Cut Metropark | 323 acres (131 ha) | Maumee | 1930 | map |
| Swan Creek Preserve Metropark | 451 acres (183 ha) | Toledo | 1963 | map |
| Toledo Botanical Garden | 60 acres (24 ha) | Toledo | 1964 | map |
| Westwinds Metropark | 174 acres (70 ha) | Springfield Township | 2015 | map |
| Wildwood Preserve Metropark | 493 acres (200 ha) | Sylvania Township | 1975 | map |
| Wiregrass Lake Metropark | 51 acres (21 ha) | Spencer Township | 2015 | map |

## Land holdings

Metroparks Toledo owns 167 acres (68 ha) of farmland in Toledo near Inverness Club for future development as a metropark. Metroparks officials said the future park will be the "typical Metroparks experience" with meadows and a sledding hill.
The district additionally owns approximately 1,900 acres (770 ha), called the Oak Openings Corridor, in western Lucas County and Swan Creek Township, Fulton County.
Four Maumee River islands (Marengo, Audubon, Blue Grass and Granger) totaling 257 acres (104 ha) are owned by Metroparks Toledo. Granger Island features a private cabin available for rent.

## Regional trails

Metroparks Toledo manages all or portions of several paved, regional rail trails.
| Trail | Length (one-way) | Location | Former railroad | Notes |
| University/Parks Trail | 7 miles (11 km) | University of Toledo to Sylvania Township | Toledo, Angola and Western Railroad | Owned by Lucas County and maintained by Metroparks, University of Toledo and City of Toledo. |
| Wabash Cannonball Trail - North Fork | 46 miles (74 km); about 9.5 miles (15.3 km) in Lucas County | Maumee to Montpelier | Wabash Railroad | Owned and managed in Lucas County by Metroparks. |
| Wabash Cannonball Trail - South Fork | 17 miles (27 km); about 10 miles (16 km) in Lucas County | Maumee to Liberty Center | Wabash Railroad | Owned and managed in Lucas County by Metroparks. |
| Chessie Circle Trail | 11 miles (18 km) total; 1.4 miles (2.3 km) owned by Metroparks in South Toledo | Perrysburg to Bowman Park, Toledo. | Toledo Terminal Railroad | |